Question

My doctor gave me Zofran for my nausea, it caused constipation. I had to stop taking it.

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Now I am sick every day all day unless I am laying down and still I have to run to run to the bathroom becuase I cannot keep anything down. I am the manager at work and I have been told to go home by my boss because I look so bad. This is my fourth pregnancy and I was not sick at all with the others. This makes it hard to know what to do or when it will get better because I have not gone through this before. Any suggestions?

Mom Answers

Oooooooh my WORD!!!!!!!! I'm not alone???????!!!!!! Ah, what a reliief! I've also been on Zofer (Zofran's cheaper twin) and at 21:30 last nite I started what seems to be the worst 24hrs of my LIFE!! At one stage last night, I was lying on the bathroom floor crying, feeling like I was in labour! No jokes! It felt like contractions!
My husband ran me a hoot bath which helped with the pain a lot. He's getting me an enema today.. I also ate some prunes, and had some milk of magnesia... I tried some other stuff as well, but I won't go into the details right now :-o
I'm thinking of quitting the Zofer, seeing as I'm taking 3 other nausea meds as well (had Hyperemesis Gravidarum)
Hope it goes away!!

I have been on Zofran since 6 weeks (i'm now 14 weeks) due to Hyperemesis (severe). I started out taking 4 mgs 3x daily, then 8 mgs 3x daily, then .5 mgs per hour through pump in belly, now i'm on .6 mgs per hour through my PICC line. The PICC line has helped a lot and I hardly ever vomit now (though I'm still suffering from Nausea). Prior to becoming pregnant I normally had a BM ever 2-4 days, but for the past 2 months I only go once every 2 weeks or so, and it's extremely painful (i'm confident it's comparable to natural childbirth). After 1 week I have some liveable cramping, but I just now passed the 2 week mark and feel very uncomfortable and whenever I sit down on the toilet to pee I have severe cramping but nothing comes out. Prunes and stool softeners haven't helped, but I will try a suppository tonight to see if it helps.

Wow! It's amazing to hear everyone's stories. I thought it was just an unfortunate coincidence that I became constipated just two days after taking Zofran. Like a lot of you I didn't have sickness with my first so this was something I was trying to avoid. I used glycerin suppositories and stool softeners and only ended up with hard, large, painful marbles. So painful and all I thought about all day was pooping. Bleh! My heart goes out to all of you who have such bad nausea that you will live with the constipation. Milk of magnesia really worked for me and drink LOTS of water. I hate plain water but found Crystal Light Pure that is sweetened with natural stevia and has made drinking water truly a pleasure. Good luck y'all!!

I used Zofran in my first pregnancy when my nausea was unbearable, and quickly became extremely constipated. I ended up spending about 6 weeks taking 200 mg of Colace, Citricel 3x's a day and milk of magnesia once a day, and had extremely painful cramping and bowel movements. After I gave birth, I was diagnosed with uterine prolapse. Honestly i think that all of the pushing I was doing with the constipation during the 6 weeks caused the prolapse, but will never know for sure. I am just saying to beware of how the constipation might affect you long term. I have never been able to stop taking Colace since my first pregnancy. Now I am pregnant again, and sick and after taking Zofran twice this weekend, I am back up to 200 MG of Colace and Citricel twice a day, and am still very constipated (even though I last took Zofran almost 3 days ago). I am going to do everything I can not to have to take Zofran again because of this, but will try suppositories and cranberry juice this time around.

Yep... Me too! Constipation set in a week after the Zofran started and my stomach has been hurting worse than labor pains... I am going to the Dr today for a scheduled visit.. I am 10 weeks now, and I cant win-- either sick with Zofran or sick with it....

As a working mom-to-be who couldn't afford to take off work for the constant nausea, Zofran seemed to be a miracle drug. Until, that is, the constipation set in. I'm the type of person whose days usually starts with a good BM, so as the days crept by without one, I began to get nervous. One afternoon I was in tears b/c the constipation was so bad. My doctor told me that enima's were too harsh and that I could give myself a glycerine supository (which aren't nearly as effective). Since, I've started taking Zofran only once a day and that has helped a bit. I take it at the same time as my prenatal which seems to help offset the upset stomach the vitamin gives me. I hope to come off it completely, very soon!

I have taken it two days in a row and I have constipation. I plan on only taking it only as needed (for days I go to college or church) because of the constipation. But I would rather be constipated than have to get up five times during my class to get sick in the bathroom, or continue to miss church. I will however try the cranberry juice suggestion and maybe I will get some "Greens" (collard greens, spinach, etc) to help with fiber.
Good luck :)

I started taking Zofran (actually the generic version) 6 days ago and immediately stopped having BM's. It's been terrible! Constipation is not healthy and also aggregates nausea.
Since the beginning I've only taken half the recommended dosage. As soon as I miss a dose (even by an hour) I begin vomiting, so I can't stop taking it at this point. I have to work, so I really have no other option.
I called my doctors office yesterday and they recommended prune juice. I was able to get about 2 oz down last night and a few more oz this morning. This helped me have a BM!
Prune juice is the only thing that has worked for me. It's not just about the fiber. I believe there is a natural laxative in prune juice.

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